Researchers reported there was no protective net effect of any level of alcohol consumption on health observed in a new study published by George et al in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. Further, researchers reported that low levels of alcohol use may be associated with elevated health risks, with higher consumption associated with progressively increased risks of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and death and disability.
The new research, called the Alcohol Intake and Health Study, initially commissioned by the U.S. federal government to inform development of the new U.S. Dietary Guidelines, reported a mortality risk from alcohol of 1 in 25 for people who consumed an average of 14 drinks per week. Further, drinking up to 7 drinks per week was associated with minimally elevated health risks for most conditions. No level of alcohol use was found to offer any protective health benefits, researchers found.
“Even low levels of alcohol use come with health risks,” said lead study author Kevin Shield, PhD, an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto and a senior scientist who leads the World Health Organization/Pan American Health Organization Collaborating Centre in Addiction and Mental Health. “And that risk continues to increase the more someone drinks.”
Dr. Shield and coauthors from the United States and Canada aimed to estimate how lifetime drinking habits affect Americans’ risk of illness and death related to alcohol. After medical experts reviewed more than 7,200 scientific articles on alcohol-related diseases and injuries to determine the level of risk for each condition, the researchers applied those risks to large national health data sets. They then used statistical modeling to estimate how different drinking levels influence long-term health outcomes.
The U.S. Dietary Guidelines currently advise Americans to “limit alcoholic beverages,” but do not specify how much alcohol is safe to drink. Previous guidelines recommended a daily limit of two alcoholic drinks for men and one for women.
“While the new U.S. Dietary Guidelines contain a useful ‘less-is-best’ message, they provide no quantitative framework. Our study was designed to do just that across the drinking spectrum,” said study co-author Timothy Naimi, MD, MPH, Director of the University of Victoria’s Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research and an Adjunct Professor at Boston University.
“It turns out that two drinks per day, which might be considered ‘moderate’ from a social standpoint, is associated with a substantially elevated risk of a premature death caused by alcohol,” he added.
No Protective Effect of Any Level of Alcohol Use Observed
In addition to mortality risk, researchers examined how drinking patterns influence chronic and acute alcohol-related conditions such as cancer (eg, esophageal, oral, and breast cancers), cardiovascular disease, liver disease, and injury.
The study overturns a common misconception that alcohol can protect health. “We did not observe a significant protective effect of alcohol on health at any level of consumption,” said Dr. Shield. “At low levels, alcohol may be associated with a reduced risk of ischemic heart disease and stroke. But when you look across the full range of health outcomes, including cancer and other chronic diseases, those potential benefits are outweighed by the risks, even at seven drinks per week.”
Statistical modeling used in the study to determine health risks was based on “the best possible data,” noted Dr. Shield. “However, we can’t assume that means one person’s individual health risk is the same as what is reported here—that depends on other factors like lifestyle, genetics, drinking patterns, and other choices that differ person to person.”
The researchers estimated risk for all health conditions known to be causally related to alcohol and then aggregated these estimates to determine the total health risk. Yet, new research continues to emerge that links alcohol with additional health conditions, such as pancreatic cancer. “Understanding those relationships, and how much alcohol contributes to those risks, is an area that still needs further work,” added Dr. Shield.
By finding that alcohol consumption is associated with increased risk above one drink per day for both men and women, the study offers a much-needed benchmark.
Dr. Shield concluded: “Having a clearer threshold helps people better understand what level of drinking is associated with increased risk and make more informed decisions when drinking.”
DISCLOSURE: For full disclosures of the study authors, visit jsad.com.
